Hermione's Worst Fear
by Goth Albino Angel
Summary: It's a kind of semi-prequel to "Who Am I, Mistress?" Hermione goes to Professor Lupin, wanting to have her try on the boggart. What awaits her... isn't what either of them expects.


**_I don't own Harry Potter, not one bit. The plot and idea for this fic, however, are completely mine._**

**_What's Hermione truly afraid of? After the lesson, she goes back to Professor Lupin to ask to see the boggart again. But the boggart doesn't give them the answer. Why? Because Hermione doesn't have a present fear. Her fear... is for the future..._**

**_Hey pretty people! This is an idea that I had out of nowhere and I'm quite sure someone's tried to understand what Hermione was afraid of as well. Unlike whoever that person was, I simply wanted to use the boggart as an excuse to create a wicked prologue-esque fic for Who Am I, Mistress. Thanks!_**

**_And make sure to vote on the poll on my profile so I know what my readers wanna see next._**

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"Professor?"

Professor Lupin glanced up to see Hermione Granger standing in the doorway of his classroom. "Oh hello, Hermione." He greeted her cheerfully. "I was just packing up to head to my office."

"Sir, I was wondering about the boggart earlier today?"

"Oh?" Professor Lupin gave her a small lopsided smile. "Another student here to try and face their worst fear?"

"Well…" Hermione shifted uncomfortably. "Actually, I'm here just to find out what it is."

Professor Lupin raised an eyebrow with a frown. "Most wizards already know their worst fears…" he murmured.

Hermione ducked her head and blushed, avoiding his eyes. "I'm afraid of a lot of things, but I don't know my worst fear."

Professor Lupin nodded and stood straight from where he was packing. "Well, I don't see why not. Come over to the trunk and have your wand ready." Hermione moved nervously over to stand in front of the trunk with her wand held firmly in her hand. "Ready?"

Hermione nodded, her eyes narrowed in concentration as she saw the boggart emerge. As it turned to her, it cocked its head and Hermione readied herself for whatever was going to appear in front of her. To her surprise and the shock of Professor Lupin, the boggart took one step toward her before bursting to dust.

Hermione stared at it in confusion, wondering what had happened. Nothing she'd read on boggarts mentioned them bursting into dust. "Professor?"

Professor Lupin glanced to the girl and noticed her lost look. "Don't worry." He told her. "It's quite simple, actually. The only time this happens is when a fear is too powerful for the boggart to produce. If you still want to find out what your worst fear is, follow me."

The young witch trailed after the teacher as Professor Lupin led her through the hallways. Hermione's mind was going a mile a minute. If her fear was too powerful for even a boggart to produce, perhaps it was best that she not know what it was. But then, if she didn't know what her worst fear was, how would she know how to face it? The question turned itself over and over in the bushy-haired girl's head as she followed her professor along the corridors.

Finally, they came to the North Tower in which Hermione had to hold in a groan. She and Professor Lupin climbed into the stuffy tower room to find Professor Trelawney sitting in one of her poofy chairs, drinking tea and swishing it around to make sure she got a good read from the tea leaves. She glanced up as they entered and a dreamy smile appeared upon her face as she took them in.

"Hello, my dears." She murmured. "How may I help you on this most unfortunate of days?"

"Good evening, Sybil." Professor Lupin said pleasantly. "I'm here to see if you have the Ultimum Timore potion. Hermione here is wondering her worst fear and it was too powerful for the boggart to mimick."

"So you wish for the potion of ultimate terror? What if it is powerful enough to manifest itself? How will you deal with it?"

"I'll let Albus know what we're doing, Sybil. The potion, if you would be so kind?" Professor Trelawney nodded and moved over to a small cabinet behind the desk that she didn't use. Pulling from it a vial of purplish blue liquid, she turned and handed it to the waiting man.

"Thank you very much, Sybil. I'll tell you how it turns out. Though, I'm almost certain you'll already know by the time I come back." Professor Lupin shot her a wink and a smile before leading Hermione from the room.

Before she left, Hermione turned back to her ex-professor. "Professor Trelawney?"

"Yes dear?"

"I-I wanted to-."

"Don't apologize, dear. It was just one crystal ball. I can easily replace it."

Hermione nodded and was turning again when all of the incense within the room blew out and the trapdoor shut with a wind that suddenly swept through the room. Hermione turned in bewilderment to find Professor Trelawney staring at her with large glassy eyes.

"The child of those without the magic. The child of those with the purest blood. Meeting will be terrible and love will bloom. But with the snake nearby, the lion will be more powerful and the bigger the snake, the angrier the lion becomes until the stripes hit the body and the largest snake is vanquished."

Hermione stared in petrified shock as the wind swept through the room again and relit all of the incense. The trapdoor opened and Professor Lupin reemerged, looking around in confusion. "Hermione?" he inquired of the pale girl. "Aren't you coming?"

"W-what?" she turned to him and swallowed, glancing once more at the calm, idle Professor Trelawney. "Y-yeah. I'm coming." Shaking herself free of her shock, the young witch hurried after the teacher.

Professor Lupin led her to his office where he lit the candles and brought out a piece of chocolate just in case. "Alright, Hermione. I'm going to need one of your hairs."

Hermione cocked her head before reaching up and plucking a hair from her head and handing it over. Her teacher took it and dropped it into the potion, corking the vial once more and beginning to shake it. As he did so, the liquid went from its purple-bluish color to a warm golden one, like liquid sunlight. Professor Lupin noticed that not a shred of purple remained and he threw the potion at the wall.

The glass shattered, but as it did so, it melted and the puddle of potion and melted glass dripped to the floor. Smoke began flowing out from the potion and Hermione watched in awe as it became something of a thick screen. Upon the screen, was the screaming face of a young man, his limbs twisting and bending in grotesque positions. Professor Lupin stood straight and slowly made his way forward, staring at the screen in shock.

The screen widened and there stood Hermione. She was older than what she was now, but her eyes were not nearly as focused. They were still as intelligent, but they glittered with childish glee as the man fell unconscious. "That's enough, Pet." A voice purred nearby. A black-haired woman stepped into view and wrapped her arm around Hermione's shoulders, bringing their lips together in a passionate kiss.

"That's a good girl." The black-haired woman took out her wand and cast a curse at the man. A green jet of light shot from her wand and the man lay still, his eyes unblinking and unseeing. At the same time, Hermione knelt before the woman, head bowed in submission as the woman stroked her hair.

"Did I do good, Mistress?" Hermione's voice filtered out to the shocked pair watching.

"You did wonderful, Pet. Now come. Serve your mistress." Hermione bounced to her feet and followed after the woman exuberantly. The smoke began to fade as the two women apparated into a beautifully dark room and began kissing.

Hermione turned to Professor Lupin as the smoke dissipated and it was clear that she was confused and terrified. "P-professor, what was that?"

"I'm not entirely certain myself, Hermione. But just remember, people with fears concerning the future are able to shape fate just the way they like it, understood?"

"Yes, professor."

Professor Lupin gave her a gentle smile and handed her the chocolate bar. "You're going to need that."

Hermione nodded and called, "Thank you, professor."

She began heading out the door, looking a lot better than a few moments before. Professor Lupin grinned as she disappeared before he frown and stared at the place where the liquid was sizzling slightly. Raising his wand, Professor Lupin sent off a silver messenger to the headmaster. Headmaster Dumbledore arrived within minutes. "Remus, you requested to see me?" the white-haired man asked as he stepped into the room.

"Yes, Albus. The pensieve is ready for you on the desk."

Headmaster Dumbledore raised an eyebrow and moved over to the desk, sitting down and making himself comfortable before diving into the memory of the Manifestus Timore. He watched the events play out and a worried line creased his brow. "She's going to be working with Bellatrix Lestrange?" he wondered. "But, from how she was torturing that man, she was not on the side of the Light."

"Exactly, Headmaster. And there's nothing we can do to change it or keep it from happening."

"Then, perhaps, we will have to utilize it as is. You know that the Ultimate Terror potion is tricky, Remus. We simply have to plan."

Professor Lupin nodded as Headmaster Dumbledore gave him a smile and disappeared. Cocking his head, the werewolf knew that nothing good was going to come of this. "Why couldn't she have been afraid of a bad grade like everyone assumed?" he sighed, deciding that he needed some chocolate as well.

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**_I know it's short, but that's the way I rock and roll. For those of you who don't know the Latin (don't worry, neither do I), it goes as follows:_**

**_Ultimum Timore - Ultimate Fear_**

**_Manifestus Timore - Manifest fear_**

**_I think the one above went better than it could have gone. I mean, I initially wanted it to go like_ this.**

The boggart moved closer to Hermione and she held her wand, ready to cast the spell that would turn it into something, anything else. Slowly, the boggart morphed into a shape and there, before them, stood a beautiful woman. Her pitch black hair was curly and long, running over her shoulders. She wore all black clothing consisting of a corset, a dress, fingerless gloves and heeled boots. The look in her glittering black eyes clearly read insanity, but she approached Hermione calmly.

The younger witch stared at the woman in utter confusion, wondering why the boggart would turn into something so unfrightening. The look in the woman's eyes was a bit unsettling, but nothing truly scary.

The woman drew closer and knelt down, lifting Hermione's chin to look into the large brown eyes. Professor Lupin watched the interaction, intrigued. One word raced through his mind as he watched the woman. _Lestrange._ He held his wand ready, in case the boggart did anything that Bellatrix could.

Hermione found herself melting against the woman as she stared into the contemptuous black eyes opposite her own brown. Slowly, the woman leaned closer and pressed her lips to those of the younger girl. Hermione's eyes fluttered shut and she moved closer. It was about this time Professor Lupin realized that something was off and shouted, "Ridikulus!" The woman turned into a balloon and floated up to the ceiling before popping and sinking into the trunk.

Professor Lupin closed the trunk, locked it and turned to the breathless Hermione. A mix of emotions were playing in the girl's eyes and he was a bit afraid his student would have an emotional breakdown. What could possibly have prompted her to think of Bellatrix Lestrange of all people. None of the Muggleborn students even knew the woman existed.

"Professor? Who was she?" Hermione inquired softly, her eyes still glazed with the pleasure of the kiss.

"She was a woman that was sent to prison a while back, Hermione. But don't worry, the Dementors protecting Azkaban will keep her in prison. Though, how you know of her, is a mystery."

"I don't know her." Hermione murmured softly, her head lowering in confusion.

"Well, no worries now, Hermione. She won't be able to get at you. Trust me."

Sending Hermione off with a chocolate bar to tell her to get some rest, Professor Lupin sat at his desk, trying to work through this because if he didn't, something terrible could happen to his favorite student.

**_See? Wasn't the first one a bit better? Tell me your opinion. That's about all except one more thing... Oh yeah: review! Thanks! :)_**

**_And don't forget the poll! ;)_**


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